DECA members advance to Internationals

The CVHS DECA club saw success at the California State Career Development Conference (SCDC), with multiple students reaching the top 20 for various events.

The SCDC was held from March 7-10 in Anaheim, CA. It involved nearly 2,500 other students from over 70 schools and was divided into around 60 different events. Each event was related to one of six career clusters of business and had two tasks: an exam and role-plays.

“It was a big state conference with over 2,500 students, so I definitely noticed the competition was harder this year,” said club president senior Ava Alburo. “But we were still able to do well in our categories, so it was good.”

Thirty-four students from DECA club competed, and seven finished top 20 in their events. Out of the seven, two students made the top five of their event, advancing to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC).

Alburo and sophomore Grace Tan both placed fourth in their events. Alburo competed in the Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series, an event involving the management and marketing process of clothing and similar products. Tan competed in the Accounting Applications Series, where participants made appropriate decisions in business simulations by analyzing data. 

“I’m proud of what I’ve done and the things I’ve learned, but I know that there’s a lot more to study, especially with bigger changes occuring in the accounting profession in regards to automation and software,” wrote Tan. “But, I’m most grateful and happy about the friendships I’ve made and the genuine and kind people I’ve met and so excited to compete and chat with them in person at internationals!”

Five other students were able to finish as finalists. Alburo and Junior Michelle Li placed 6th and 7th for their events in Project Management Business Solutions and Food Marketing series, respectively. 

Senior Esther Cui placed in the top 20 for the Accounting Applications Series, along with sophomore Vedant Naik for the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series. Vivian Yang finished as a finalist for four Protégé Exams, and sophomores Joy Wong and Maggie Xie were finalists in a partner event for Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making. 

“We believe that our events really suited what we were good at, our passions, and our interests, so we were really educated in the event topic, so we performed pretty well,” said Xie.

The ICDC will take place between April 27-30, also in Anaheim, where Alburo and Tan will compete against international talent in similar events.